Information processor and information processing system

ABSTRACT

An information processing device comprises a device controller which controls a plurality of visual-audio reproducing units from the server via the device communication interfaces; content information unification recording section which controls content information corresponding to the contents of the contents storage from the server; and the GUI by which any content information from the server is selected and desired contents are reproduced without recognizing the unit.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to, for example, an information processingdevice and an information processing system, which perform informationreproducing processing for a plurality of visual-audio reproducingunits.

BACKGROUND ART

Hitherto, there has been a visual-audio reproducing system, wherein aplurality of visual-audio reproducing units are connected to a bus andthe contents showing the details of the information source in aplurality of visual-audio reproducing units are reproduced.

However, in the above described visual-audio reproducing system, when aplurality of contents exist sporadically in a plurality of visual-audioreproducing units, the user is put to inconveniences of being requiredto grasp which visual-audio reproducing unit has the contents desired toreproduce and to supply an control signal to the visual-audioreproducing unit to order the numbers of the contents desired toreproduce by the so-called AV/C (AV/C Digital Interface Command Set)command using a controller.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Hence, the present invention is carried out in view of suchinconveniences and an object of the present invention is to provide aninformation processing device and an information processing systemcapable of reproducing desired contents without recognizing the unit ina plurality of visual-audio reproducing units.

The information processing device of the present invention, in theinformation processing device which performs a control of information byconnecting a plurality of information reproducing sections to aninformation processing section through an interface, comprises:reproducing control means for controlling a plurality of informationreproducing sections from the information processing section; contentinformation control means for controlling content informationcorresponding to the contents of an information source in a plurality ofinformation reproducing sections from the information processingsection; and content information selection means for selecting anycontent information in content information control means from theinformation processing section; wherein any information reproducingsection having the contents corresponding to the content informationselected by content information selection means is put into an operatingstate relative to reproducing by the reproducing control means from theinformation processing section.

Further, the information processing system of the present invention, inthe information processing system which performs a control ofinformation by connecting a plurality of information reproducing devicesto a server device via an interface, comprises: reproducing controlmeans for controlling a plurality of information reproducing devicesfrom the server device; content information control means forcontrolling content information corresponding to the contents of theinformation source in a plurality of information reproducing devicesfrom the server device; and content information selection means forselecting any content information in content information control meansfrom the server device; wherein any information reproducing devicehaving the contents corresponding to content information selected bycontent information selection means is put into an operating staterelative to reproducing by the reproducing control means from the serverdevice.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the following operationsare performed.

First, an operation for acquiring content information will be shown.

Contents are set in the visual-audio reproducing unit. When the contentsare mounted on the visual-audio reproducing unit, a content informationcontroller reads a content information corresponding to the contentsfrom a content information recording section.

The content information is transmitted to the server from thevisual-audio reproducing unit. The content information read by contentinformation controller is transmitted by a device communicationcontroller to a server via a device communication interface.

The server receives this information. In the server, the devicecommunication controller acquires content information via the devicecommunication interface.

The content information controller records this information and a unitID of the visual-audio reproducing unit which transmitted thisinformation in a content information unification recording section. Thecontent information controller records the acquired content informationin a content information unification recording section. The recordedinformation in content information unification recording sectionincludes content information and the unit ID to judge in whichvisual-audio reproducing unit the information is recorded.

A judgment is made as to whether other visual-audio reproducing unit isconnected or not. When other visual-audio reproducing unit is connected,the above described processing and judgment are repeated. When othervisual-audio reproducing unit is not connected, the information of allthe contents is displayed on a GUI, and the process moves to anoperating action of the contents described below.

Next, the operating action of the contents will be shown.

The user selects content information desired to watch and listen fromthe GUI and instructs its operation procedure. By using the GUI, theuser peruses content information recorded in content informationunification recording section. The user selects content informationdesired to watch and listen from content information by perusing andinstructs how to operate the contents corresponding to the selectedcontent information.

From content information unification recording section a main controllerjudges in which visual-audio reproducing unit the contents exist. First,the main controller supplies the selected content information to contentinformation controller and judges in which visual-audio reproducing unitthe information exists.

The main controller commands the device controller to execute theoperation procedure which the user instructed for the target device. Themain controller supplies the operation procedure of the contents whichthe user instructed and the unit ID of the visual-audio reproducing unitto the device controller.

A device control signal is transmitted to the target visual-audioreproducing unit. The device communication controller reads the devicecontrol signal from the device controller and transmits a device controlsignal showing the contents desired to watch and listen and theoperation procedure thereof to the target visual-audio reproducing unitvia the device communication interface.

The visual-audio reproducing unit, which received the device controlsignal, operates the contents which the user desires to watch and listenby a content controller. In the target visual-audio reproducing unit,the device communication controller receives the device control signalvia the device communication interface. The content controller performsoperations such as reproducing the contents based on the device controlsignal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a constitution of a contentreproducing system adapted to an information processing device of thepresent embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an acquiring operation of a contentinformation.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation action of a content.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the constitution of the contentreproducing system adapted to other information processing device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an enlarged example of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the enlarged example of FIG. 4.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The present embodiments adapted to an information processing device ofthe present invention will be described below.

The information processing device of the present embodiment canreproduce desired contents without recognizing the unit among aplurality of visual-audio reproducing units.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a content reproducing system adapted to theinformation processing device of the present embodiment.

First, a constitution of the content reproducing system will bedescribed.

The content reproducing system is constituted by comprising anvisual-audio reproducing unit 1 which is represented by MD (Mini Disk)and the like having information such as titles and the like of thecontents and a server 2 which can control the information of thecontents of such a plurality of visual-audio reproducing units.

The visual-audio reproducing unit 1 is constituted by comprising: acontent information recording section 11 which recorded contentinformation; a content information controller 12 capable of managing andcontrolling content information; a contents storage 13; a contentcontroller 14 capable of controlling the contents storage 13 toreproduce contents; a device communication controller 15 to communicatecontent information with the outside and a communication interface 16.Further, a state such as which contents a plurality of visual-audioreproducing units 1 are reproducing or stopping may be transmitted tothe server 2, and displayed on a GUI 27 in the server 2.

The server 2 is constituted by comprising: a content informationunification recording section 21, which is a database collecting contentinformation of a plurality of visual-audio reproducing units 1; acontent information controller 22 which manages and controls the unifiedcontent information; a device controller 24 which records and reproducescontents of the content storage 13 in the connected visual-audioreproducing unit 1 or manages the contents of the content storage 13which is presently being recorded and reproduced; a device communicationcontroller 25 which controls communications with the visual-audioreproducing unit 1; a communication interface 26; a GUI 27 whichdisplays content information so as to enable the user to select; and amain controller 29 which controls the GUI 27, the device controller 24and content information controller 22. Further, when a command tooperate certain contents from a user was inputted from the GUI 27 in aserver 2, the server 2 may change a handling of the user's commandaccording to a state of the visual-audio reproducing unit 1 which hasthe contents. Specifically, in the case where the user sends a commandto reproduce certain contents from the GUI 27 in the server 2, when thevisual-audio reproducing unit 1 having the contents has already beenreproducing other contents, the command from the user is disregarded sothat the content control signal is not transmitted to the visual-audioreproducing unit 1 and the server 2 may notify the user of a message onthe GUI 27 to the effect that “no reproducing is possible since othercontents are being reproduced at present”.

Next, the operation of the content reproducing system constituted insuch a manner will be described.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of acquiring contentinformation.

First, in step S1, the contents storage is set in the visual-audioreproducing unit. Specifically, when the contents storage 13 was mountedin the visual-audio reproducing unit 1, content information controller12 reads content information corresponding to the contents from contentinformation recording section 11. On this occasion, when a plurality ofcontents exists, all content information is read.

In step S2, content information is transmitted to the server from thevisual-audio reproducing unit. Specifically, content information read bycontent information controller 12 is transmitted to the server 2 by thedevice communication controller 15 via the device communicationinterface 16. On this occasion, when a plurality of contents exist,identifiers and content information for all the contents are listed andtransmitted.

In step S3, the server receives this information. Specifically, in theserver 2, the device communication controller 25 acquires contentinformation via the device communication interface 26.

In step S4, content information controller records this information andthe unit ID of the visual-audio reproducing unit which transmitted thisinformation, in a content information unification recording section.Specifically, content information controller 22 records the acquiredcontent information in content information unification recording section21. The recorded information in content information unificationrecording section 21 includes content information and the unit ID tojudge in which visual-audio reproducing unit 1 content information isrecorded.

In step S5, a judgment is made as to whether other visual-audioreproducing unit is connected or not. In step S5, when othervisual-audio reproducing unit is connected, the process returns to stepS1 and repeats the processes and judgments from step S1 to step S5. Instep S5, when no other visual-audio reproducing unit is connected, theprocess advances to step S6 and displays the information of all thecontents on a GUI, and moves to the operation action of the contentsdescribed below.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation action of the contents.

In step S11, the user selects content information desired to watch andlisten from the GUI and instructs its operation procedure. Specifically,by using the GUI 27, the user peruses content information recorded incontent information unification recording section 21. The user selectscontent information desired to watch and listen from the perused contentinformation and instructs how to operate the contents corresponding tothe selected content information.

In step S12, a main controller judges in which visual-audio reproducingunit the contents exist from content information unification recordingsection. Specifically, first, the main controller 29 supplies theselected content information to content information controller 22 andjudges in which visual-audio reproducing unit the information exists.

In step S13, the main controller commands the device controller toperform the operation procedure instructed by the user for the targetdevice. Specifically, the main controller 29 supplies the operationprocedure of the contents instructed by the user and the unit ID of thevisual-audio reproducing unit to the device controller 24.

In step S14, the device control signal is transmitted to the targetvisual-audio reproducing unit. Specifically, the device communicationcontroller 25 reads the device control signal from the device controller24, and transmits an identification data of the contents desired towatch and listen and a device control signal showing the operationprocedure thereof to the target visual-audio reproducing unit 1 via thedevice communication interface 26.

In step S15, the visual-audio reproducing unit which received the devicecontrol signal operates the contents which the user desires to watch andlisten by using the content controller. Specifically, in the targetvisual-audio reproducing unit, the device communication controller 15receives the device control signal via the device communicationinterface 16. The content controller 14 performs operations such asreproducing the contents of the contents storage 13 based on the devicecontrol signal. Note that the operation of reproducing includes anaction relating to reproducing, that is, reproduction, stop, deletionand the like.

With regard to the selection of content information, the above describedinformation processing device has a GUI which displays contentinformation to select.

Further, in the above described information processing device, by theselection of content information using the GUI, an event ID of the MPEGstream of the contents may be selected as content information. The eventID is attached to digital broadcasting programs one by one. In thiscase, the title comprising content information may be formed from theevent ID.

Further, in the above described information processing device, by theselection of content information using the GUI, the title of thecontents may be selected as content information. Further, in the abovedescribed information processing device, by the selection of contentinformation using the GUI, the recording dates of the contents may beselected as content information.

Further, in the above described information processing device, aplurality of visual-audio reproducing units may supply by themselvescontent information to an content information unification managingsection 21 of the server 2.

Further, in the above described information processing device, contentinformation unification managing section 21 may make an inquiry aboutcontent information to a plurality of visual-audio reproducing units.

Further, in the above described information processing device, aninquiry about content information may be made to a plurality ofvisual-audio reproducing units from the server 2 having the GUI, whichperforms the selection of content information

Further, in the above described information processing device, contentinformation may be supplied to the server 2 having the GUI whichperforms the selection of content information from a plurality ofvisual-audio reproducing units.

Further, in the above described information processing device, thetiming in which content information is updated may be a timing in whichthe contents of the contents storage mounted on a plurality ofvisual-audio reproducing units were updated. In this case, for example,content information may be automatically transmitted to the server 2 atthe time when the contents of the contents storage are mounted on thevisual-audio reproducing unit.

Further, in the above described information processing device, thetiming in which content information is updated may be periodic at fixedtime intervals. In this case, for example, the server 2 periodicallyperforms the transmission of a polling signal, so that contentinformation may be inquired about from the visual-audio reproducingunit.

Further, in a plurality of visual-audio reproducing units, the samecontents are differentiated, so that the contents may be sorted from adisc-reproducing unit of relatively good sound quality to atape-reproducing unit of relatively bad sound quality.

Note that, on the occasion when content information is selected, atleast a plurality of visual-audio reproducing units may be put into astandby state capable of reproducing immediately when the power sourceis turned on.

Further, a plurality of visual-audio reproducing units may be CD(Compact Disc) auto-changer devices or video reproducing units of VHS(Video Home System) or DVHS (Digital VHS).

Further, as content information, for example, CD texts may be used inthe case of CD reproducing units and TOC (Table Of Contents) data may beused in the case of MD reproducing units. Further, in this case, otherdata may be added to the CD texts and TOC data.

Further, as content information, for example, in the case of thetape-reproducing unit, the added data recorded on the tape labelattached to a tape cassette may be used.

Further, as content information, for example, channel data or charactersdata of the electronic program guide (EPG) used for the digitalbroadcasting may be used. Further, the data of the electronic programguide may be processed so as to form titles.

Further, in the case where the titles are used as content information,for example, the information of “the title+the unit ID+what number” maybe recorded in content information unification recording section 21 inthe server 2.

Further, at the time when content information is selected, in order tocertify a user's profile the information of “how old+male or female” maybe inputted to the server 2.

Further, the server 2 may provide an appropriate content informationseparately for certain age or gender according to the information of“how old+male or female” of the certified result of the user's profileby applying a predetermined filter.

Further, content information unification managing section 21 in theserver 2 stores a content information table which records contentinformation, so that items to be applied with the predetermined filtermay be distinguished in advance.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a content reproducing system which isadapted to other information processing device of the presentembodiment.

First, a constitution of the content reproducing system will bedescribed.

The content reproducing system is constituted by comprising: thevisual-audio reproducing unit 1 which is represented by MD and the likehaving the information such as the titles and the like of the samecontents as shown in FIG. 1; the server 2 capable of collectivelymanaging the information of contents contained in a plurality ofvisual-audio reproducing units 1; and a commander 3 containing the GUI,by which the user operates the contents via the server 2. Further, astate such as which contents a plurality of visual-audio reproducingunits 1 are reproducing or stopping is transmitted to the server 2, andmay be displayed on a GUI 33 in the commander 3 from the server 2.

The server 2 is constituted by comprising: content informationunification recording section 21 which is a database collecting contentinformation of a plurality of visual-audio reproducing unit 1; contentinformation controller 22 to manage and control the unified contentinformation; the device controller 24 to record and reproduce thecontents of the contents storage 13 of the connected visual-audioreproducing unit 1 or manage the contents of the contents storage 13which are presently being recorded and reproduced; the devicecommunication controller 25 to control communications with thevisual-audio reproducing unit 1; the communication interface 26; acommander communication controller 27 to communicate with the commander3; the commander communication interface 28; and the main controller 29to control the device controller 24, content information controller 22and the commander communication controller 27. Further, when a commandfrom the user to operate certain contents is transmitted to the server 2from a GUI 33 in the commander 3, the server 2 may change a handling ofthe command from the user according to the state of the visual-audioreproducing unit 1 which has the contents. Specifically, in the casewhere the user sends a command from the GUI 33 in the commander 3 toreproduce certain contents, when the visual-audio reproducing unit 1having the contents has already been reproducing other contents, thecommand from the user is disregarded so that the content control signalis not transmitted to the visual-audio reproducing unit 1 and a messagefrom the server 2 to the effect that “no reproducing is possible sinceother contents are being reproduced at present” is displayed on the GUI33 in the commander 3, and the user may be notified accordingly.

The commander 3 is constituted by comprising: a communication interface31 which performs communications with the server 2; a commandercommunication controller 32 as the controller for the communicationinterface 31; and the GUI 33 capable of displaying content informationfor the user to select.

Next, the operation of other content reproducing system constituted insuch a manner will be described.

The operation of acquiring content information until content informationin the visual-audio reproducing unit is recorded in content informationunification recording section 21 in the server 2 is the same as theabove described operation in flowchart shown in FIG. 2 and therefore thedescription thereof will be omitted.

The operation action of the contents will be described below.

The main controller 29 reads content information recorded in contentinformation unification recording section 21 by the content informationcontroller 22. The main controller 29 transmits the read contentinformation to the commander 3 by the commander communication controller27 via the commander communication interface 28.

In the commander 3, the commander communication controller 32 receivescontent information via a commander communication interface 31.

By using the GUI 33, the user peruses the received content information.The user selects content information desired to watch and listen fromthe perused content information and instructs how to operate thecontents corresponding to the selected content information.

In the commander 3, the commander communication controller 32 transmitscontent information and an operation instructing information selectedvia the commander communication interface 31 to the server 2.

In the server 2, the main controller 29 receives the selected contentinformation and operation instructing information by the commandercommunication controller 27 via the commander communication interface28. The main controller 29 supplies the selected content information tocontent information controller 22. The content information controller 22judges in which visual-audio reproducing unit the selected contentinformation exists.

Next, the main controller 29 supplies the operation procedure of thecontents instructed by the user and the unit ID of the visual-audioreproducing unit to the device controller 24.

The device communication controller 25 reads the device control signalfrom the device controller 24 and transmits the identifier data of thecontents desired to watch and listen and the device control signalshowing the operation procedure thereof to the target visual-audioreproducing unit 1 via the device communication interface 26.

In the target visual-audio reproducing unit 1, the device communicationcontroller 15 receives the device control signal via the devicecommunication interface 16. The content controller 14 performsoperations such as reproducing the contents of the content storage 13based on the device control signal. Note that the operation ofreproducing includes the action relative to reproducing, that is,reproduction, stop, deletion and the like.

Further, in the above described information processing device, as thecommander 3, for example, a portable telephone and a portable electricterminal may be used. In this case, as the commander communicationinterface, for example, an infrared system by Bluetooth standard may beused.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an enlarged example of the contentreproducing system adapted to the information processing device of thepresent embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

Difference between the enlarged example shown in FIG. 5 and that shownin FIG. 1 is that a plurality of visual-audio reproducing units 1-1,1-2, 1-3, . . . 1-n are connected to the server 2 in FIG. 5. Otherconstitution is the same as that in FIG. 1 and therefore the descriptionthereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the content reproducing system of the enlargedexample constituted in such a manner will be described.

When the contents of the contents storage 13 are mounted in any of thevisual-audio reproducing units 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, . . . 1-n, contentinformation controller 12 reads content information corresponding to therespective contents from content information recording section 11.

The content information read by the content information controller 12 istransmitted to the server 2 by the device communication controller 15via the device communication interface 16.

In the server 2, the device communication controller 25 acquires contentinformation via the device communication interface 26.

The content information controller 22 records the acquired contentinformation in content information unification recording section 21. Therecorded information in content information unification recordingsection 21 includes content information and the unit ID to judge inwhich visual-audio reproducing units content information is recorded.

When other visual-audio reproducing units 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, . . . 1-n areconnected, the above described processes and judgment are repeated. Whenother visual-audio reproducing units 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, . . . 1-n are notconnected, the information of all the contents are displayed on the GUIin the server 2, and the process moves to the operation action of thecontents described below.

By using the GUI 27 in the server 2, the user peruses contentinformation recorded in content information unification recordingsection 21. The user selects content information desired to watch andlisten from the perused content information and instruct how to operatethe contents corresponding to the selected content information.

First, the main controller 29 supplies the selected content informationto content information controller 22, and judges in which visual-audioreproducing units among 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, . . . 1-n the information exists.

The main controller 29 supplies the operation procedure which the userinstructed and the unit ID of the visual-audio reproducing units 1-1,1-2, 1-3, . . . 1-n to the device controller 24.

The device communication controller 25 reads a device control signalfrom the device controller 24 and transmits the device control signalshowing the contents desired to watch and listen and the operationprocedure thereof to the target visual-audio reproducing units 1-1, 1-2,1-3, . . . 1-n via the device communication interface 26.

In the target visual-audio reproducing units 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, . . . 1-n,the device communication controller 15 receives the device controlsignal via the device communication interface 16. The content controller14 performs operations such as reproducing the contents of the contentsstorage 13 based on the device control signal. Note that the operationof reproducing includes an operation relating to reproducing, that is,reproduction, stop, deletion and the like.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the enlarged example of the contentreproducing system adapted to other information processing device of thepresent embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

Difference between the enlarged example shown in FIG. 6 and that shownin FIG. 4 is that a plurality of visual-audio reproducing units 1-1,1-2, 1-3, . . . 1-n and a plurality of commanders 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, . . .3-n are connected to the server 2, and each of them is operated bydifferent users 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, . . . 4-n in FIG. 6. Other constitutionis the same as that in FIG. 4 and therefore the description thereof willbe omitted.

Next, the operation of the content reproducing system of other enlargedexample constituted in such a manner will be described.

The content information acquiring operation until content information inthe visual-audio reproducing unit is recorded in content informationunification recording section 21 in the server 2 is the same as theabove described operation shown in FIG. 5 and therefore the descriptionthereof will be omitted.

The operation action of the contents will be described below.

In the server 2, the main controller 29 reads content informationrecorded in content information unification recording section 21 bycontent information controller 22. The main controller 29 transmits theread content information to the commanders 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, . . . 3-n bythe commander communication controller 27 via the commandercommunication interface 28.

In the commanders 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, . . . 3-n, the commander communicationcontroller 32 receives content information via the commandercommunication interface 31.

The users 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, . . . 4-n peruse the received contentinformation by using the GUI 33. The users 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, . . . 4-nselect content information desired to watch and listen from the perusedcontent information and instruct how to operate the contentscorresponding to the selected content information.

In the commanders 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, . . . 3-n, the commander communicationcontroller 32 transmits the selected content information and theoperation instructing information to the server 2 via the commandercommunication interface 31.

In the server 2, the main controller 29 receives the selected contentinformation and the operation instructing information by the commandercommunication controller 27 via the commander communication interface28. The main controller 29 supplies the selected content information tocontent information controller 22. The content information controller 22judges in which visual-audio reproducing units among 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, . .. 1-n the selected content information exists.

Next, the main controller 29 supplies the operation procedure of thecontents which the users instructed and the unit IDs of the visual-audioreproducing units 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, . . . 1-n to the device controller 24.

The device communication controller 25 reads the device control signalfrom the device controller 24 and transmits the device control signalshowing the contents desired to watch and listen and the operationprocedure thereof to the target visual-audio reproducing units 1-1, 1-2,1-3, . . . 1-n via the device communication interface 26.

In the target visual-audio reproducing units 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, . . . 1-n,the device communication controller 15 receives the device controlsignal via the device communication interface 16. The content controller14 performs operations such as reproducing the contents of the contentsstorage 13 based on the device control signal. Note that the operationof reproducing includes an operation relating to reproducing, that is,reproduction, stop, deletion and the like.

In the above described information processing device, an example using aplurality of visual-audio reproducing units 1 and the server 2 wasshown, however, it is not limited to this example, and may be adapted tothe case where content information of photographic image data by aplurality of digital cameras is supplied to a personal computer and thephotographic image data of the desired contents is reproduced from thepersonal computer.

Further, in the above described information processing device, as thedevice communication interface between a plurality of visual-audioreproducing units 1 and the server 2, for example, the communicationsystem of IEEE1349 standard may be used or Ethernet may be used.

Further, in the above described information processing device, when anetwork is formed between a plurality of visual-audio reproducing units1 and the server 2, content information may be acquired using a networktable which stores the information inside the network.

Note that the above described plurality of visual-audio reproducingunits 1, the server 2 and a plurality of commanders 3 may be integrallyformed, similarly to a CD auto changer. In this case, each visual-audioreproducing unit 1 and the server 2, and the server 2 and a plurality ofcommanders 3 are separated and, for example, may be used several metersapart.

The information processing device according to the invention, in theinformation processing device to connect a plurality of informationreproducing sections to the information processing section via aninterface and to perform a control of the information, comprises:reproducing control means for controlling a plurality of informationreproducing sections from the information processing section; contentinformation managing means for managing content informationcorresponding to the contents of the information source in a pluralityof information reproducing sections from the information processingsection; and content information selection means for selecting anycontent information in content information managing means from theinformation processing section, wherein any information reproducingsection having the contents corresponding to content informationselected by content information selection means is put to an activestate relative to reproducing by reproducing control means controllingfrom the information processing section so that the user is not requiredto recognize in which information reproducing section the contentsdesired to watch and listen exist and, therefore, only simply byselecting content information corresponding to the contents desired tobe reproduced from the information processing section, the contents canbe watched and listened without recognizing the information reproducingsection, thereby producing the effect of being able to enhanceoperability.

Further, in the information processing device according to theinvention, in the above description, content information selection meanshas the GUI capable of displaying content information for selection,thereby producing the effect of the user being able to select contentinformation corresponding to the contents desired to watch and listenfrom a screen without difficulty.

Further, the information processing device according to the invention,in the above description, selects the event ID of the MPEG stream of thecontents as content information by content information selection means,thereby producing the effect of being able to form content informationwithout difficulty by using the event ID given to every program of thedigital broadcasting.

Further, the information processing device according to the invention,in the above description, selects the title of the contents as contentinformation by content information selection means, thereby producingthe effect of being able to form content information without difficultyby using, for example, the titles of the music such as the CD texts andTOC data of MD.

Further, the information processing device according to the invention,in the above description, selects the recorded date and time of thecontents as content information by content information selection means,thereby producing the effect of being able to form content informationwithout difficulty by using the recorded date and time of the contents.

Further, the information processing device according to the invention,in the above description, provides active state recognition means forrecognizing the active state of a plurality of information reproducingsections, thereby producing the effect of being able to recognize theactive state such as which contents a plurality of informationreproducing sections are reproducing or stopping.

Further, the information processing device according to the invention,in the above description, provides operation command change means forchanging a handling of the content operation commands from the useraccording to the operation state of a plurality of informationreproducing sections, thereby producing the effect of being able tochange a handling of the content operation commands from the useraccording to the active state such as which contents a plurality ofinformation reproducing sections are reproducing or stopping.

Further, in the information processing device according to theinvention, in the above description, since a plurality of informationreproducing sections themselves supply content information to contentinformation managing means, content information is automaticallyacquired from a plurality of information reproducing sections, therebyproducing the effect of being able to record content information incontent information managing means without difficulty.

Further, in the information processing device according to theinvention, in the above description, the information managing meansmakes an inquiry about content information to a plurality of informationreproducing sections, thereby producing the effect of being able toacquire content information by responses provided from a plurality ofinformation reproducing sections to the inquiries.

Further, the information processing device according to the invention,in the above description, makes an inquiry about content informationfrom content information selection means having the GUI to a pluralityof information reproducing sections, thereby producing the effect ofbeing able to make the GUI display content information acquired byresponses to inquiries from a plurality of information reproducingsections.

Further, the information processing device according to the invention,in the above description, supplies content information to contentinformation selection means having the GUI from a plurality ofinformation reproducing sections, thereby producing the effect of beingable to automatically display by the GUI content information acquiredfrom a plurality of information reproducing sections.

Further, in the information processing device according to theinvention, in the above description, the timing in which contentinformation is updated is a timing in which the contents mounted on aplurality of information reproducing sections are updated, therebyproducing the effect of being able to update content information bymatching to the timing in which new contents are mounted on a pluralityof information reproducing sections or the contents thereof are removed.

Further, the information processing device according to the invention,in the above description, the timing in which content information isupdated is periodic at fixed time intervals, thereby producing theeffect of being able to update content information by matching to thetiming which is periodic at fixed time intervals

Further, an information processing system according to the invention, inthe information processing system to perform a control of information byconnecting a plurality of information reproducing devices to a serverdevice via an interface, comprises: reproducing control means forcontrolling a plurality of information reproducing devices from theserver device; content information managing means for managing contentinformation corresponding to contents of an information source in aplurality of information reproducing devices from the server device; andcontent information selection means for selecting any contentinformation in content information managing means from the serverdevice, wherein any information reproducing device having the contentscorresponding to content information selected by content informationselection means is put to an active state relative to reproducing byreproducing control means controlling from the server device, so thatthe user is not required to recognize in which information reproducingsection the contents desired to watch and listen exist and, therefore,only by simply selecting content information corresponding to thecontents desired to be reproduced from the server, the contents can bewatched and listened without recognizing the information reproducingsection, thereby producing the effect of being able to enhanceoperability.

Further, in the information processing system according to theinvention, in the above description, content information selection meanshas the GUI capable of displaying content information for selection,thereby producing the effect of being able to select content informationcorresponding to the contents that the user desires to watch and listenon the screen without difficulty.

Further, the information processing system according to the invention,in the above description, selects the event ID of the MPEG stream of thecontents as content information, thereby producing the effect of beingable to form content information without difficulty by using the eventID given to every program of the digital broadcasting.

Further, the information processing system according to the invention,in the above description, selects the title of the contents as contentinformation by content information selection means, thereby producingthe effect of being able to form content information without difficultyby using the titles of the music, for example, such as CD text data, TOCdata of MD and the like.

Further, the information processing system according to the invention,in the above description, selects the recorded date and time of thecontents as content information, thereby producing the effect of beingable to form content information without difficulty by using therecorded date and time of the contents.

Further, the information processing system according to the invention,in the above description, provides active state recognition means forrecognizing the active state of a plurality of information reproducingdevices, thereby producing the effect of being able to recognize theactive state such as which contents a plurality of informationreproducing sections are reproducing or stopping.

Further, the information processing system according to the invention,in the above description, provides operation command change means forchanging a handling of content operation commands from the useraccording to the active state of a plurality of information reproducingdevices, thereby producing the effect of being able to change a handlingof the content operation commands from the user according to the activestate such as which contents a plurality of reproducing sections arereproducing or stopping.

Further, in the information processing system according to theinvention, in the above description, since a plurality of informationreproducing sections themselves supply content information to contentinformation managing means, content information is automaticallyacquired from a plurality of information reproducing sections, therebyproducing the effect of being able to record content information withoutdifficulty in content information managing means.

Further, in the information processing system according to theinvention, in the above description, the information managing meansmakes an inquiry about content information to a plurality of informationreproducing sections, thereby producing the effect of being able toacquire content information by responses to inquiries from a pluralityof information reproducing sections.

Further, in the information processing system according to theinvention, in the above description, an inquiry about contentinformation is made to a plurality of information reproducing sectionsfrom content information selection means having the GUI, therebyproducing the effect of being able to display by the GUI contentinformation acquired by responses to inquiries from a plurality ofinformation reproducing sections.

Further, the information processing system according to the invention,in the above description, supplies content information to contentinformation selection means having the GUI from a plurality ofinformation reproducing sections, thereby producing the effect of beingable to automatically display by the GUI content information acquiredfrom a plurality of information reproducing sections.

Further, in the information processing system according to theinvention, in the above description, the timing in which contentinformation is updated is a timing in which the contents mounted on aplurality of information reproducing sections were updated, therebyproducing the effect of being able to update content information bymatching to the timing in which new contents were mounted on a pluralityof information reproducing sections or the contents thereof wereremoved.

Further, in the information processing system according to theinvention, in the above description, the timing in which contentinformation is updated is periodic at fixed time intervals, therebyproducing the effect of being able to update content information bymatching to the timing which is periodic at fixed time intervals.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is, for example, adapted to the informationprocessing device and the information processing system to performinformation reproducing processing for a plurality of visual-audioreproducing units, and a content reproducing system is adapted to thevisual-audio reproducing unit 1 represented by MD (Mini Disk) and thelike having the information such as the title of the contents and theserver 2 capable of managing the contents information of a plurality ofvisual-audio reproducing unit 1.

1. An information processing apparatus in which a plurality ofinformation reproducing units are connected to an information processingunit via an interface to perform control of information, the informationprocessing apparatus comprising: reproducing control means forcontrolling said plurality of information reproducing units; contentinformation managing means for managing content informationcorresponding to contents of an information source in said plurality ofinformation reproducing units; content information selection means forselecting any content information in said content information managingmeans from said information processing unit; and operation commandchange means for changing a handling of a content operation command froma user as a function of whether selected information reproducing unitsare active and whether selected reproducing units are currentlyreproducing different content, wherein said information processing unitrecords selected content information and a unit ID of one of saidplurality of information reproducing units which has said contentinformation, wherein said information processing apparatus displays saidcontent information when no other information reproducing units areconnected to said information processing unit, the displayed contentinformation providing for selection of the content information, andwherein the information reproducing unit having the contentcorresponding to the content information selected is put to an activestate for reproducing the content.
 2. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said content informationselection means has a GUI (Graphical User Interface) capable ofdisplaying content information for selection.
 3. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an event ID(identification) of an MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) stream of thecontents is selected as content information by said content informationselection means.
 4. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein a title of the contents is selected as contentinformation by said content information selection means.
 5. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein therecorded date and time of the contents are selected as contentinformation by said content information selection means.
 6. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising: active state recognition means for recognizing an activestate of said plurality of information reproducing units.
 7. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein theoperation command change means changes the handling of content operationcommands from a user according to the active state of said plurality ofinformation reproducing unit.
 8. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein said plurality of information reproducingunits supply content information to said content information managingmeans.
 9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said content information managing means makes an inquiry aboutcontent information to said plurality of information reproducing units.10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, whereinan inquiry about content information is made to said plurality ofinformation reproducing units from said content information selectionmeans having said GUI.
 11. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein content information is supplied to saidcontent information selection means having said GUI from said pluralityof information reproducing units.
 12. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein a timing in which contentinformation is updated is a timing in which the contents mounted on saidplurality of information reproducing units are updated.
 13. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a timingin which content information is updated is periodic at fixed timeintervals.
 14. An information processing system in which a plurality ofinformation reproducing apparatuses are connected to a server apparatusvia an interface to perform control of information, the informationprocessing system comprising: reproducing control means for controllingsaid plurality of information reproducing apparatuses from said serverdevice; content information managing means for managing contentinformation corresponding to contents of an information source in saidplurality of information reproducing apparatuses; content informationselection means for selecting any content information in the contentinformation managing means from said server apparatus; and operationcommand change means for changing a handling of a content operationcommand from a user as a function of whether selected informationreproducing units are active and whether selected reproducing units arecurrently reproducing different content, wherein said server apparatusrecords selected content information and a unit ID of one of saidplurality of information reproducing apparatuses which has said contentinformation, wherein said server apparatus displays said contentinformation when no other information reproducing apparatuses areconnected to said server apparatus, the displayed content informationproviding for selection of the content information, and wherein theinformation reproducing apparatus having the content corresponding tothe content information selected is put to an active state forreproducing the content.
 15. The information processing system accordingto claim 14, wherein said content information selection means has a GUIcapable of displaying content information for selection.
 16. Theinformation processing system according to claim 14, wherein an event IDof the MPEG stream of the contents is selected as content information bysaid content information selection means.
 17. The information processingsystem according to claim 14, wherein a title of the contents isselected as content information by said content information selectionmeans.
 18. The information processing system according to claim 14,wherein the recorded date and time of the contents are selected ascontent information by said content information selection means.
 19. Theinformation processing system according to claim 14, further comprisingactive state recognition means for recognizing the active state of saidplurality of information reproducing apparatuses.
 20. The informationprocessing system according to claim 19, wherein the operation commandchange means changes the handling of the content operation commands fromthe user according to the active state of said plurality of informationreproducing apparatuses.
 21. The information processing system accordingto claim 14, wherein said plurality of information reproducingapparatuses themselves supply content information to said contentinformation managing means.
 22. The information processing systemaccording to claim 14, wherein said content information managing meansmakes an inquiry about the contents information to said plurality ofinformation apparatuses.
 23. The information processing system accordingto claim 15, wherein an inquiry about content information is made tosaid plurality of information reproducing apparatuses from said contentinformation selection means having said GUI.
 24. The informationprocessing system according to claim 15, wherein content information issupplied to said content information selection means having said GUIfrom said plurality of information reproducing apparatuses.
 25. Theinformation processing system according to claim 14, wherein the timingin which content information is updated is a timing in which thecontents mounted on said plurality of information reproducingapparatuses are updated.
 26. The information processing system accordingto claim 14, wherein the timing in which content information is updatedis periodic at fixed time intervals.
 27. A computer-readable medium forstoring executable program code for controlling an informationprocessing apparatus in which a plurality of information reproducingunits are connected to an information processing unit via an interfaceto perform control of information, the program code comprising: ageneration step of generating first control information for controllingsaid plurality of information reproducing units; a content informationmanaging step for managing content information corresponding to contentsof an information source in said plurality of information reproducingunits; a content information selection step for selecting any contentinformation in said content information managing step from saidinformation processing unit; an operation command change step forchanging a handling of a content operation command from a user as afunction of whether selected information reproducing units are activeand whether selected reproducing units are currently reproducingdifferent content, a content information and ID recording step forrecording selected content information and a unit ID of one of saidplurality of information reproducing units which has said contentinformation onto the information processing apparatus, a displaying stepfor displaying said content information on the information processingapparatus when no other information reproducing units are connected tosaid information processing unit, the displayed content informationproviding for selection of the content information, and wherein theinformation reproducing unit having the content corresponding to thecontent information selected be put to an active state for reproducingthe content.